Little League files trademark suit

Pompano man named his group Christian Little League

Little League Baseball Inc. is suing a Pompano Beach man in Fort Lauderdale federal court for trademark violation over the name of his youth baseball group, Christian Little League.

The weight of the law is on the side of Little League, experts agreed. But Jay Kaplan, a 46-year-old father who started the league in January, insists he answers to a higher authority.

"GOD is the ultimate judge and has the final say," he wrote in a March 15 letter to Little League's lawyers.

Before filing suit Thursday, the organization's lawyers contacted Kaplan in a March 7 letter demanding that he stop using the Little League tag. The similar names could mislead and confuse the public by suggesting an affiliation between the groups, the lawyers wrote.

Kaplan responded with a four-page letter declaring only God could judge the dispute. He said no one would confuse his Coral Springs group with a secular organization and argued the phrase "little league" had entered the common vernacular.

"Christian Little League was GOD's idea and it is a great and wonderful idea," wrote Kaplan, who grew up Jewish and converted to Christianity. "I have no plans on changing the name GOD gave me."

Reached Friday on his way to Marlins youth baseball night, Kaplan said he had not yet seen the lawsuit.

"My position is Little League should embrace the name of Jesus. Let's start with that," he said.

But Little League's attorneys said God should be left out of it.

"The dispute is not theological, it is legal," the lawyers stated in a second letter sent March 17. They added: "Our client has no objection to your preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. . . . Our client simply requests that you do so under a different name."

The letter suggested three alternatives - Christian Youth League, Christian Youth Baseball and Christian Baseball League - and threatened a lawsuit would follow if the name were not changed by March 28.

According to Kaplan, about 25 players have signed on to his fledging league, enough to field two teams.

"We play & we pray & we bible study," states the group's Web site at www.christianll.com, which notes the group is not affiliated with Little League Baseball Inc.

Christopher Downs, a spokesman for Little League headquarters in South Williamsport, Pa., said the Little League brand is often misused because it's so widely known.

"We have to be very protective of our trademark name and educate people that Little League is a trademarked entity that should not be used generically," Downs said. "Just because you have children playing youth baseball or youth softball doesn't mean they are playing Little League baseball or softball."

Little League, which got its start in 1939, has more than 2 million players in its baseball division and 400,000 participating in softball, according to its Web site.

It has a presence in 70 countries and at least 20 affiliated teams in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

It might seem odd that a group so entrenched in the American psyche would take notice of 25 players in Coral Springs.

However, trademark owners know they must be vigilant about protecting trademarks or risk losing them, said Matthew Nelles, a Fort Lauderdale trademark attorney at the law firm Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell.

Nelles said trademark law does not treat religious entities any differently than nonreligious ones.

The basic principle is to protect the public from confusing one product with another, he said.

"Little League is a very strong trademark," Nelles said. "No one can contest the validity of that trademark."

Vanessa Blum can be reached at vbblum@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4605.